Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Asif Khan (asifahsankhan) Let's talk about the "MAN" behind the "Man of Tai Chi" — Keanu Reeves — first...As an actor, Keanu Reeves has that unusual blend of stilted stiffness (not always the boldness) which is awkward but mostly gracious that is pure and interestingly, his own. And that makes him sometimes seem quite strange. But not bizarre, which is what most people frequently slander him with. He's good looking, attractive and probably was born to be a weird version of 007 if he was an assassin. His facial expressions speaks for itself. Always damn rough, tough and you know. Which can, however, set the mood for the ladies and can seem kinda' cool to a lot of guys (best bet if you were almost a full- grown guy living in the 90's). But what to do when his ruggedness is right up there all the time. He even seems "serious" when he laughs (like he's faking it like an orgasm...?). To make things worse, his line readings in perplexing and what up with all these accents (almost per scene). Sure, it's weird, sometimes, but that's it. And while this is something which can either work or not work for other actors (or probably destroy some of their careers most certainly) — all that bizarre agendas, however, seems to work perfectly for Reeves. It's almost the exact opposite. Maybe it's one of those reasons why he is called the "Man". Because somehow Keanu Reeves has been pulling it off oh so proudly and splendidly for years and years. He somehow successfully managed to change our minds, get our support and most of us have accepted the fact that "Hey it's Keanu, you know, the MAN." In any case, his straightforward feeling of truth and touching trust in the material (whatever it might be) is one reason his profession has endured so long. Regarded widely as one of the most dedicated and hard working actors in the industry, there isn't a single amount of ego or selfishness in him. But there is indeed a giant amount of sense and responsibility and the sense of respect in his work. It's reviving. Refreshing."Man of Tai Chi", Reeves' element film directorial debut makes a big difference. Yet somehow his appearance held onto the same "once in a while" ungainly mix that Reeves conveys to the table as an on-screen character (That same sometimes-awkward blend one might say) and which works again, perfectly. The film is super genuine as well (as befitting the hand to hand fighting kind, where everything involves decisive), with snapshots of peculiar stilted discourse (likewise decent) and scene after scene of exciting physical battle, taped with effortlessness and assurance and no little measure of wonderment for the competitors included.Cinematographer Elliot Davis films the fight scenes with thrilling immediacy: lots of long takes, so you realise you are actually seeing these guys actually do this, as opposed to watching something pieced together later in the editing room. The setting is surreal: the circular stage painted with psychedelic dizzying swirls and the circular tables surrounding said stage, not to mention the bored elegant silent crowd, is reminiscent of the midnight theatre scene in David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" or the freaky tiered nightclub in Josef von Sternberg's "Shanghai Gesture". Each fight gets more dangerous. The stakes rise. Death is the main conceivable result. Keanu Reeves approaches the class with deference and energy. This is all about Reeves' vision. His beliefs. And this is Tiger Chen's picture all the way. You watch him transform, and you watch his soul go dark. But Reeves was already there, just waiting for him. "Man of Tai Chi" — is tremendously engaging. Acceptable directorial piece from "The Man" — Keanu Reeves. Praise worthy, seemingly outstanding debut and of course lauded by fans.

christian-11 In the 80's, Martial Arts movies where a lot more dominant in the market. It was mainly really good martial artists with poor acting skills.Then - slowly - came the choreographers and the CGI dudes and made every actor a martial artists. The acting got better, the fighting got worse.In Man of Tai Chi, we're back. There's a lot of respect for the martial arts in this movie. When there's a Tae-Kwon-Do fighter, he uses Tae-kwon-do moves. All fighters, except Keanu, knows their stuff.I wanted to see more of Iko Uwais (from The Raid), and I wanted to see less of Keanu, but it's still a solid 9 judged purely as a martial arts film.Would love to see Keanu Reeves diving into this and become the next John Woo.

SebastiaanH97 Funny how lots of reviews have high scores and they say the fight scenes were great. Honestly, the fight scenes were so incredibly mediocre and slow I didn't see anything great about it. If you compare this to movies like The Raid, Ong Bak, Ip Man etc. You would be thinking the same as I do and I bet you those people didn't see the movies listed above and lots of other good fight movies.Speaking of the Raid, what a disgrace they didn't show more of Iko Uwais. Such a waste to let one of the best martial artist of today, almost do nothing in a fighting movie. Anyway, I give this movie a 6/10.

Mario Dati (ThePiousPatriot) WOW! Where to begin. Could the story have been a little better? Sure it could've. This is a martial arts film. With that being said, it was pretty awesome. Being a fan of martial arts films, of course I enjoyed this, but not just because it's a martial arts film. It's because compared to other films of this nature, this one has some pretty amazing fight scenes that, in my opinion, rival those of "Bloodsport". This is why I felt it was necessary to give this film an eight star rating. Keanu is a bonus, like icing on a cake. On the other hand, if you're not a fan of martial arts movies, this is definitely not for you. As stated above, the story is slightly lacking compared to great movies of other genres. However, if you compare this film to other martial arts films, the story is better than average. That's why I believe that if you're a fan of martial arts films, DO NOT PASS THIS ONE UP. It was refreshing to see fight scenes of this quality again. Enjoy